Poland’s slim hopes of qualification for the World Cup finals remain alive
after a routine 5-1 victory against San Marino, though they did suffer the
ignominy of becoming the first country to concede against the minnows in
Group H.

Waldemar Fornalik’s team will face England at Wembley next month in their final game but must first travel to second-placed Ukraine in a potentially vital clash after boosting their goal difference with their third win of the campaign.

Poland had taken an early lead through Piotr Zielinski but Alessandrandro Della Valle is likely to earn the freedom of his country after a surprise 22nd-minute equaliser, San Marino’s first goal in eight games.

Normal service was then resumed when Jakub Blaszczykowski and ­Waldemar Sobota both scored to give the Poles a commanding lead before half-time. Zielinski added a fourth before Adrian Mierzejewski completed a comfortable win.

Robin van Persie ensured that Holland became the first European country to qualify for Brazil after the Manchester United forward’s two goals against Andorra. Louis van Gaal’s team had been widely criticised for failing to beat Estonia on Friday night and the game was goalless at half-time before Van Persie scored twice in five minutes.

Sweden’s 1-0 win in Kazakhstan means Germany could not have qualified on Tuesday night but they earned a less than convincing 3-0 win against the Faroe Islands, with the first goal a close-range finish from Arsenal’s Per Mertesacker. His new club team-mate, the record signing Mesut Ozil, added the second 16 minutes from time with a penalty, with the third goal coming from Thomas Muller.

Italy secured their place in Rio after a 2-1 home victory over the Czech Republic. The visitors had taken the lead through Aston Villa’s £6.5 million signing Libor Kozak but Italy equalised through Giorgio Chiellini before Mario Balotelli, the former Manchester City forward, scored the winner from the penalty spot.

France ended their dismal wait for a goal, after more than 540 minutes, through Franck Ribéry but were still under threat of an embarrassment against Belarus. Manchester City’s Samir Nasri had given the French a 3-2 lead with 20 minutes remaining in a tense, nervy encounter.

Daniel Agger, the Liverpool defender, converted a 73rd-minute penalty to earn Denmark a crucial win in Armenia that keeps their qualification hopes alive.

Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic appears certain to appear at the World Cup after Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 2-1 win over Slovakia, in what will be his country’s first participation at the tournament.

Spain avoided a humiliating home defeat to Chile in a friendly after Manchester City’s £14.9 million summer signing Jesus Navas scored a last minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw. Roberto Soldado, the Tottenham forward, scored Spain’s other goal with a well-taken header.